Houston City College
Public Community College in Houston, TX. Six-year graduation rate 17%. Median 10-year earnings $39,254.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $39,254, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Completion is the weak point: 17% graduate within six years. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $13,921. It also moves people — 3.9% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 17% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 17% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 17% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. At 23:1, instructor access is thin — worth probing on a campus visit. As a public four-year university, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. The undergraduate body runs to 49,749, large enough that student experience varies widely by program.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 37,970 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $5,734 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price varies modestly by income — $5,722 at $0–30k against $10,123 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 51% of students receive grant aid, averaging $5,023 — common but not automatic. Only 19% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 4,450 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $5,722 |
| $30–48k | $4,271 |
| $48–75k | $6,534 |
| $75–110k | $8,363 |
| $110k+ | $10,123 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,262 of these 37,970 students, totalling $44,488,155 — an average of $6,126 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Harris County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)